Sixteen Years Ago

There was a bad feeling in the pit of Adrian's gut.

It was different than the feeling he got before he had to go into town with Mother for something. It was even different than when he saw the local priest walking up to their humble abode, holy bible and cross in hand.

Nothing was out of place; the morning had been perfectly unspectacular. Mother had made a simple breakfast and sent Adrian off to enjoy some free time before she would need his help doing chores later. Still, as Adrian rounded the corner of his house and headed into the woods behind it, he couldn't help but feel like something was dreadfully off about the day. He would have to ask his friend about it when he met up with him.

He carefully picked his way through the woods that he knew as well as the back of his hand, yet seemed almost foreign on this strange morning. He had been exploring it since he was old enough to cast a spell- which was to say about five. He had walked through it enough times that he had created a slight path, a narrow opening in the underbrush just wide enough for his nine-year-old body.

Adrian froze as he heard rustling from off to his right, followed by some soft cursing. His eyes glowed brilliantly as terrified magic swelled in his soul. He crouched down as the noise came closer, his soul flicking into Battle. He could sense a large soul coming toward him, the most powerful soul he had ever felt. It's presence was almost overbearing, and Adrian unconsciously summoned a shield to block whoever was approaching, his eyes swirling green. This wasn't Edgar coming to greet him- this was a human with a dangerous amount of magic in their soul. More than even Adrian's. The boy felt his breath hitch in his throat as he realized that. All his life, he had always had an advantage over other people, even his mother and Edgar. He had magic on his side, more than anyone else he knew. But whoever this was fighting their way through his woods, they had more magic at their disposal than him.

For the first time in his life, Adrian Gaster felt utter, undiluted fear.

He stretched with his soul, trying to find Edgar, but to no avail. His breathing began to pick up as panic set in. What was he going to do? He couldn't be caught by this person, there was no telling what they would do to him. There was no Edgar nearby that could come to his rescue. He was too deep in the woods to make a break for it and go back to Mother for help. He couldn't do anything, so that's exactly what he did. Sat and waited and prayed that the person would miss him in whatever they were doing. Adrian slowly inched his way into a bush nearby, trying desperately to make as little sound as possible, dispelled his shield and waited.

Rustling in front of him and shuddering bushes heralded the approach of the the mystery person. Brown boots stomped their way from out of the underbrush, harsh cursing in a male voice from somewhere above. There was a slight pause where Adrian held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut. The world was completely still and silent as that one moment seemed to drag on forever. Adrian knew that God had no love for a demon child like him, but still found himself saying a silent prayer anyways.

The boots shifted slightly as the man stooped over, brushing branches aside as he peered down at the child. If Adrian wasn't already holding his breath, he would have stopped breathing. The man that looked down at him had glowing white eyes like his. It only made sense, logically, since Adrian could sense so much magic in his soul, but still it was a shock. There was another person with white eyes and a huge soul. Another spawn of the devil.

The man reached down and plucked the child from his hiding place, holding him by the scruff of his shirt. Adrian squirmed and kicked in an attempt to wiggle away, but the man's grip was firm as he held the boy far from his body. Adrian's leg were long but not quite that long...

Adrian could have slapped himself as the thought dawned on him. He muttered a spell, and the man was flung backward as if a giant hand had slapped him back. Adrian landed on the ground hard, but the man hit the tree behind him harder. Adrian scrambled to his feet, summoning a ring of green shields around him. In his panic, he couldn't regulate his magic properly, so the shields were huge and too heavy to move. He had effectively trapped himself. Adrian wanted to slap himself again, but the man was climbing to his feet and the boy had to focus.

"W-who are you?" He shouted, voice hoarse from lack of use. His hands moved along with the words, signing them out in unconscious motions. "What do you want? W-where's Edgar?"

The man took his time brushing off the brown and white dust from his purple robes. He eyed Adrian contemplatively, face expressionless. "You're coming with me," was all he said.

Adrian grimaced, a hard knot forming in the pit of his stomach. "N-no I'm not! Go away!"

The man seemed almost amused as he cocked an eyebrow at the child. "And how are you going to stop me, pray tell?"

Adrian's hands jerked out a silent response as his voice failed him. I know a lot of dangerous magic. Back off now.

"Oh, do you now?" The man purred. Adrian gawked at the stranger that knew his family's sign language, but didn't get a chance to say anything as the man continued, "Well, I can assure you that I know more. Would you like a demonstration?"

Adrian wasn't given any time to react. He couldn't even follow what happened. One moment he was safely turtled up in his magic, the next all his shields had been destroyed and he was lying on the ground, chin digging painfully into the dirt as the man held him down.

"I am only going to say this once, so listen closely." The man spat in his ear. "The monster living in these woods in dead." The man paused and let that sink in for a moment. Adrian felt his entire world melt away. That's why he couldn't sense his soul, that's why when Adrian had knocked the man down there had been that white... dust...

Adrian let out a throat-tearing scream, squeezing his eyes shut as they blazed with the magic in his soul. He quickly ran through some dozen spells, but none of them could do anything to the man pinning him down. He could feel the man's soul expanding magic in response, a cold and harsh feeling on Adrian's own. The man gripped the back of the boy's head and slammed it into the ground. Spots danced across Adrian's vision as pain blossomed in his forehead and a sickening crunch split from his nose. He cried out, fighting against the weight of the man as he placed more pressure on Adrian's back with his knee .

"Shut up, I'm speaking." The man said, more bite to his tone than before but the change was almost too little to notice. "As I was saying, yes, the monster is dead. Now you are going to come with me unless you want the same thing to happen to your mother. I'll explain more once we set off."

The weight was lifted from his back and the harsh grip of the hand on the back of his head was released. Adrian slowly pushed himself up, one eye trained warily on the stranger. The man made sure Adrian was watching before turning and walking away.

Adrian tentatively felt his nose, and with a grimace, confirmed that it was broken. His head pounded, which only made the pain in his face worse. The boy looked back at the man, licking his lips. "Don't I get to say good-bye?"

The man stopped, letting out a world-weary sigh. "No. Now come."

"But-"

"I don't care. I don't want to see your mother, and we don't have time anyways."

"But you broke my nose." Adrian persisted, trying to find a way to persuade this man. He was not about to go anywhere without saying goodbye. "My mother has a green soul and-"

"I know and I don't care." The man hissed, whirling around to face the insistent child. "We're leaving. NOW."

Adrian flinched as the man nearly shouted the last word. The man huffed, his robes flaring out as he spun back around. He set off again and Adrian silently followed him this time. The man led him out of the woods where a carriage was waiting, two nondescript brown horses and a tired carriage driver waiting with it. The carriage driver didn't look the least bit surprised as a man in the purple robes and a boy with a broken nose climbed inside. Adrian heard him spit off to the side before he cracked the horses into motion. He slumped over as the reality of the situation truly began to sink in. A familiar burning behind his eyes and a constricting feeling in his chest told him what was coming next.

"I believe we have time for talk now that we our on our way." The man started, inspecting his nails. "Let's see, introductions first. I am the Arch-mage. You will refer to me as Arch-mage or sir, and if you don't you will be punished appropriately." Adrian glared silently at the man across from him as tears formed at the corners of his eyes. "The church has been watching you for some time now, and as war with the monsters is in the near future, it is time you learn to use the magic in your soul for some good. They have tasked me with training you for the war, so that is what I will do." The Arch-mage finally looked up at Adrian. He frowned when he saw the water dripping down his face. "Um..." The man blinked, obviously uncertain how to handle a crying child. "S-stop that. Crying is a sign of weakness. And if you show any weakness or disobedience, I will not hesitate to have your mother killed."

Adrian felt a stab of fear strike through his heart, and he hurriedly wiped at his eyes even though it aggravated his nose. This might have been the worst situation he's been in so far, but things could be worse. They could have already killed Mother, then where would he be? He had to remain strong, like this man said, and show no weakness. He could do that for her. He would do that for her. After everything she's done for him, he wouldn't let her die because of him.

The Arch-mage seemed to relax once Adrian settled down. He nodded, glancing outside the carriage window. "Well, I have some things to attend to. There will be some attendants waiting for you once you arrive at my home. They'll see to you." The Arch-mage shuffled to his feet, stooping over and opening the carriage door. Adrian stared as the man poked his head outside before stopping and glancing back at Adrian. "What's your name?"

"Adrian."

The Arch-mage frowned. "I already have a student named Adrian." He mused, all the while the carriage door was open, wind flooding the carriage and whipping the Arch-mage's black hair around his head.

"My surname is Gaster." He offered, but the Arch-mage scowled.

"I know that, you simpleton." He sneered, and Adrian was surprised at the sheer maliciousness in his voice. "I will just call you Boy, then." Adrian frowned, but the Arch-mage was nodding to himself. Without saying anything else, the man's white eyes flared blue as he hopped out of the carriage and flew away. Gaster gaped at the man's form as he disappeared from sight before closing the door, completely awestruck.

Flying with blue magic was incredibly difficult, it said so in Mother's old notes and Adrian had learned from experience. It was a constant battle of keeping the magic on your body from crushing you and staying airborne. It sounded simple enough, but in practice was terribly hard. If too much blue magic was used on the body, it would be crushed. If not enough, and you faceplant in the ground. Slight changes in the weather would affect it too; wind, rain, even just how hot or cold it was. Not even many monsters could maintain that type of perfect balance, blue soul or not. He had come home on several occasions with bloody knees and palms, and bruises all over. Edgar had always laughed every time he failed, but was always there to heal him. Or, if he wasn't spending time with Edgar, Mother would take care of him.

Now his friend was dead. His mother's life was held in his hands. He was being held by a nameless man with just a title that had made him a nameless boy. He had a greater control of magic than Adrian could ever hope to achieve, and was seemed determined to make Adrian's life dreadful.

Adrian couldn't stop the tears this time. They trickled down his face, harsh hiccups forcing their way out from his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut, curling up on his side in a fetal position as the carriage continued to bump along. He wanted to go back, back to yesterday when everything was normal. He wanted Edgar, he wanted his home, he wanted his mommy.

But nobody came.

He was completely and utterly alone, sobbing on the wooden seat of a carriage, a driver who couldn't care less about him keeping the vehicle in motion. Edgar was gone. Mother would be gone if Adrian didn't do as the Arch-mage said. He had to be strong. But for now, while the Arch-mage was gone, he would allow himself to be weak.


Adrian jolted away as the carriage clomped to a stop. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his stiff muscles- he must have cried himself to sleep. He sat up slowly, rolling his neck and looking outside the carriage window. The sky outside was still bright, though the sun was swiftly approaching the horizon. Still, there was some hours left to the day. He might as well face them as best he could and see where he had ended up.

Before he could make any further moves, the carriage door opened, revealing a skinny slave. She stepped aside to let the boy out, bowing her head and motioning with her arm silently. Adrian cautiously slid down from the seat and onto the dusty path. The girl shut the door after him and motioned for him to follow. He started as the carriage driver cracked the horses into motion again, leading them farther down the road where a stable and burly stablehand waited. He looked back to the girl who was waiting patiently for him, head bowed and hands clasped in front of her. Adrian tore his gaze from her to the looming structure ahead- a grand villa sprawled along the land in front him. Manicured hedges and beautiful flowers adorned the garden, the cobblestone path was almost shiny in its cleanliness, the horse fountain in the middle of the small plaza in front of the dwelling was flowing with water like liquid crystal. Adrian gawked at the visage of perfection, suddenly self-conscious of his dirty clothes and bloody face. He eventually managed to put one foot in front of the other and follow the slave down the path. As his feet travelled from the dusty road to the slick stones, he almost believed he would look behind him and his footprints would be magically washed away. He was slightly disappointed when he glanced back and they were still there, marring the extraordinary beauty.

The girl turned as they passed the fountain, leading him away from the front of the residence and instead taking him to a smaller building on the right end of the grounds. She silently ushered him inside, closing the door behind them. Adrian looked around as she continued on, passing several doors as their steps echoed in the stone corridor.

He finally settled his gaze on the slave. She was probably fifteen and spectacularly average. Short hair cropped to her head, an average height, and from the glimpses he caught, she was neither ugly nor beautiful. Just average. Her clothing, though simple, was just as clean and upkept as everything else the Arch-mage owned.

"Um... excuse me?" Adrian whispered tentatively, wincing. He could almost hear the brittle snap of the silence breaking, but the slave did not respond. She must not have heard him; he tried again. "Excuse me? Where are we going?"

The girl again didn't say anything, but she did quicken her pace, her slippered feet slapping the stone floor in her rush.

Adrian huffed, crossing his arms and tucking his chin in his chest. It seemed this slave would be no more helpful than the Arch-mage had been. He remained silent as she brought him to the last door at the end of the hall. She moved to open it, but hesitated, peering at Adrian through the corner of her eye. She took a deep breath as she appeared to come to a decision, hurriedly looking around to make sure they were alone. Which, Adrian thought, was a little absurd as this building was probably the servants' chambers, and the whole thing was nothing more than a hallway connecting a string of rooms. Finally content with their surroundings, the girl crouched down so she could lay her hands on his shoulders.

"Listen," she said, voice hushed and creaking with fear, "Master won't allow us to speak to you, or anyone else. Please do not speak to us. I will tell you this time that Master told me to bring you to the infirmary if you appeared injured, then show you to your quarters so that you may get ready for when he comes back later today." Adrian noticed how even the Arch-mage's slaves spoke like they were at least a little educated. The man wanted nothing but perfection in every aspect. He shuddered as he thought of what that meant for him.

She stood back up abruptly, smoothing the front of her dress with her hands in quick strokes. She swung open the door without knocking, pushing Adrian inside, and just as unceremoniously, clicked the door shut. Adrian blinked, absorbing his new surroundings for a moment. The room wasn't very small, but was cramped nonetheless, filled to the brim with medical supplies. Cabinets lined the walls, baskets filled with dried herbs littered the ground, small tables with grinding tools and bandages dotted the room. At the sound of the door, the man in the back of the room looked up from rummaging through one of the baskets and visibly blanched. He awkwardly cleared his throat before returning to his basket with renewed vigor. Adrian was about to ask him what he was doing, but stopped himself as he remembered what the slave girl said. Instead, he waited patiently for the man to attend to him, keeping himself entertained by seeing which of the herbs lying around he could identify. Most of them were fairly common ingredients in different remedies for common ailments- stomach issues, headaches, insomnia-

Adrian was startled out of his thoughts as the man practically lunged forward, eyes and hands glowing a soft green that mended the boy's injuries. As soon as his nose was straight again and his HP points were all back in their rightful places, the man just as quickly withdrew, sticking his head back in with his herbs. Adrian blinked, trying to comprehend why the people here acted like he was made of hot iron. Eventually, he turned back around and let himself out to where the slave was still waiting for him. She wordlessly led him to what he assumed would be his room, and he just as wordlessly followed.

This time, she led him around to the other side of the villa to a cellar door nestled next to the wall. She produced a key from some hidden pocket in her dress, clicking open the heavy iron lock and pulling open the wooden doors. She stepped back, bowing her head again and letting Adrian climbed down the steps in front of her. He walked down into the room, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. The only source of light was from the open door in the ceiling, revealing a bed, dresser, and small desk against the far wall. There were light scuffs on the stone ground that suggested other furniture had been removed to make room for the Arch-mage's new guest. Adrian turned as the girl stepped down behind him, smoothing the light wrinkles in her dress again. She strode over to the dresser, opening it and pulling out a mundane outfit of brown cotton. She thrust the clothes into Adrian's hands before scurrying back up the steps, closing the doors behind her. Adrian heard the heavy thunk as she locked the door, leaving him alone in the room- his room- to change and wait for the Arch-mage.

He slowly stripped off his clothes and adorned the new ones, feeling his way through the dark and praying there were no rats dwelling in the cellar with him. He felt apprehensive for some reason as he summoned a ball of light to see by, probably afraid of seeing if anything lurked in the dark. He was truly alone though, and the boy let out a small breath of relief as he sat down on the edge of his straw bed.

Adrian got up and looked through his new clothing collection for a while, but all he found was the same drab brown in both shirt and pants. He paced around the room, recalling every herb he could and listing their medicinal properties while stubbornly keeping his thoughts from going any farther than that. Herbs made him think of healing which made him think of green magic which made him think of Mot- no, it made him think of no one. He practiced some of his magic, summoning spectral hands that signed to him, shields that circled the room, more balls of light of varying colors and sizes, anything he could think of that wouldn't potentially hurt him. He tried to keep his thoughts from straying down the path of magic. Magic made him think of practicing which made him think of the woods which made him think of Edgar.

Edgar. Impromptu training sessions in the woods filled with laughter and jokes. The way his hands stumbled through the signs Adrian tried to teach him. Hot days spent under a willow tree, hearing stories about faraway lands. Cold days spent around crackling fire as he made it dance. An autumn day filled with tears and confusion before he told Adrian there was nothing to fear, they were family.

Mother. He balled his hands into fists as his concentration shattered, replaced with a numbing sense of despair. His magic fizzled out of existence as he collapsed onto his bed, mind swarming with memories. Mother's silent smile. Her hands and eyes glowing as she practiced her magic. Helping him read through her old notes on magic. Showing him herbs she collected and telling him how they could help people. Sitting outside with her, gazing at the stars or watching the sunset as she told him about the value of life, how it must always be treasured. The graceful way she signed his name and told him she loved him.

He was sobbing in the darkness, truly alone.


(A/N): Whoa, what happened? I thought I had like 4 followers, but I have 23! Thank you guys so much for the support! I would ask though you give me some feedback so I can write better than my current trash...

Anyways, the tumblr for this story is up! The link is hmsi-story .tumblr If you guys have any questions, pop over there and I'll answer them :)

Also, if there are any typos in this chapter ignore them, I literally just finished it and haven't proofread it sooo...